Search Results for covid-19

Pfizer’s confidential document shows adverse events reported following vaccination; it doesn’t demonstrate that the vaccine caused the events or is unsafe

Pfizer’s document released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration contains information about adverse events that occurred following vaccination. Adverse events are health problems that occur after vaccination but aren’t necessarily caused by the vaccine. Therefore, these reports don’t establish a causal relationship between the events and the vaccine. These reports alone thus are insufficient to demonstrate that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine caused any new side effects or is unsafe.

There is no evidence of U.S.-funded bioweapon labs in Ukraine; claims to the contrary misrepresent the U.S. Cooperative Threat Reduction Program

Ukraine signed an agreement with the U.S. in 2005 to join the U.S. Department of Defense’s Biological Threat Reduction Program. The aim of this collaborative program is to “improve [partner countries’] capacity to detect, diagnose, and respond to the presence of dangerous pathogens and other threats”. These labs aren’t funded by the U.S., but are owned and funded by partner countries. There is no evidence supporting the pro-Kremlin claim that these laboratories produce biological weapons. On the contrary, the goal of these laboratories is to reduce and counter biological threats.

Short identical gene sequence in SARS-CoV-2 and a gene sequence patented by Moderna can be found in other organisms; not evidence that virus was engineered

The claim is based on the observation that the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and a genetic sequence patented by the pharmaceutical company Moderna share a 19-nucleotide long sequence. However, contrary to the beliefs of some, this sequence isn’t unique nor is it a feature specific to manmade sequences. It can be found in other living things, showing that the sequence occurs naturally. The presence of a short, identical gene sequence isn’t evidence that the virus was engineered.

CDC’s updated developmental milestone checklists don’t mean that standards for children’s development are lowered; they signal a change in the surveillance strategy

In February 2022, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its developmental milestone checklists. The new checklists aim to improve the early detection of autism and developmental delays. This strategy would allow families and physicians to better identify those children who can benefit from early intervention programs, which in many cases, can help them to catch up to their peers.

Study on SARS-CoV-2 antibodies levels following infection don’t prove that recovered patients are protected from reinfection

Both SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination lead the body to produce antibodies that provide immunity to COVID-19. Data indicate that SARS-CoV-2 antibodies may last up to 20 months following infection. However, no data is available to determine what levels of antibodies are correlated with protection from reinfection. The main drawback of infection-induced immunity is that SARS-CoV-2 infection can lead to severe disease and even death, whereas vaccines are safer and effective and can also enhance infection-induced immunity.Thus, they remain the strategy of choice.

Claims that a phase 3 clinical trial showed that ivermectin is effective against Omicron are inaccurate and based on a now-corrected Reuters article

The antiparasitic drug ivermectin is currently not recommended for treating COVID-19 based on available data. Claims that a phase III clinical trial showed that ivermectin was effective against the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant are based on an erroneous Reuters report, which has since been corrected. Instead, according to a press release from Kowa Co, the Japanese pharmaceutical company’s results found that ivermectin had antiviral activity against Omicron during non-clinical research, meaning the results weren’t observed in humans.

Robert Malone’s statements on The Dana Show about vaccine safety and virus variants are inaccurate and unsupported

All approved and authorized COVID-19 vaccines are very safe and highly effective at preventing severe disease and death. Although some variants might partially evade vaccine protection, booster doses have proven effective at preventing hospitalization and death due to viral variants, including Omicron. No evidence so far indicates that COVID-19 vaccination has played a fundamental role in the evolution of variants that can evade immunity, at least no more than infection.

Ivermectin study in the city of Itajaí contains several methodological weaknesses, resulting in questionable conclusions

Ivermectin is a drug used to treat parasitic infections in humans and animals. Although some studies conducted on cells growing in the lab suggest that ivermectin has antiviral properties, reliable and large-scale clinical trials in humans haven’t detected significant benefits from ivermectin treatment in COVID-19 patients so far. At the moment, scientists are continuing to study ivermectin in order to explore its potential as a COVID-19 treatment.

No, a fence in a shopping mall wasn’t used to segregate vaccinated and unvaccinated people; photo was taken in Romania, not Germany

Viral social media posts claimed that a photo of a fence in a shopping mall being used to separate vaccinated and unvaccinated shoppers was taken in Germany. This is inaccurate, as the photo was taken in Romania. The fence was used to prevent shoppers without a health pass from accessing non-essential businesses. A health pass is issued to people who have been vaccinated against, tested, or recovered from COVID-19. Consequently, not all who hold a health pass are necessarily vaccinated, as some social media users assumed.